The invention relates to cable lock and seal devices, of the kind consisting of a body enclosing a spring held friction member and having a passage therethrough and a flexible inextensible member having one end attached to the body, the opposite end being adapted to pass through the passage and engage the friction member therein.
A cable lock device of the kind set forth is described in U.S. 830,565. The passage in this device contains within it a larger chamber divided into upper and lower parts by a leaf spring. A small ball of diameter larger than that of the passage is held in the chamber. If the ball is above the leaf spring as the inextensible member passes down through the passage, the ball overcomes the force of the leaf spring and is held in a space defined by the leaf spring, the member and a stop provided in the lower part of the chamber. When an attempt is made to withdraw the inextensible member the ball is rolled between the moving inextensible member and the leaf spring due to the friction between the two. The ball overcomes the force of the leaf spring and continues to move upwards until it becomes wedged between the inextensible member and an inclined wall of the chamber which meets the passage-way. The inextensible member is thus held fast and cannot be removed from the locking device.
In a cable lock and seal device of the kind set forth in which the friction member comprises a ball, there is a tendency for the ball to rotate relative to the body in response to a force applied to the ball from the helically arranged strands which comprise the inextensible member and when a force is applied to the member in a longitudinal direction. Thus, when a sufficient force is applied to the member longitudinally, it can be withdrawn from the body with the ball rotating in a path as dictated by its engagement with the inextensible member.